Tool for seals



May 8, 1952 E. G. ANDERAU 3,032,770

Toor. FOR SEALS Filed March 25, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 2. Fle. 3 BY -M ATTORNEY E. G. ANDERAU TOOL FOR SEALS May 8, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 25, 1959 dmmr iii!!! Iiilff in?, n

FIG. 7

INVENTO'R EMIL ANDERAU FIG. 9

ATTORNEY Patented May 8, 1962 ice 3,032,770 TOOL F R SEALS Emil G. Anderau, Yonkers, N.Y., assignor to Stoffel Seals Corporation, Tuckahoe, N.Y. Filed Mar. 23, 1959, Ser. No. 801,259 4 Claims. (Cl. 1 177) This invention relates to seals and more particularly to a tool for holding `a strip of interconnected seals and attaching one seal at a time from the strip to tying elements as the seal is detached from the strip.

Although the seals employed with the -tool of the present invention have various applications, one principal use is that of connecting the ends of cord or other tying elements holding ra price tag or mounted on a garment or other item in such a way that the same would be visible during normal use. Since .the seal may not be opened and reused effective protection is afforded yagainst those who would attempt to defraud -a store by switching price tags or returning a garment `or other item after using the same.

Heretofore, relatively cumbersome seals have been provided for a similar purpose. However, these have been more expensive to produce and provided less protection since anyone obtaining a seal of such types might apply the same without the need of a special tool.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a special tool for holding a supply of simple inexpensive seals, which seals may be applied quickly and easily by means of the tool.

A further object of the invention is to provide -a tool, which may be manually o-r power Operated, for holding and feeding `a strip of seals, and closing and separating one seal at a time from the strip, and in which means is provided to insure complete closing of each seal.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the tool in open position, with the side cover plate removed, and holding a strip of seals with the first in position for closing;

FIG. 2, a fragmentary view of the front portion of the device of FIG. 1 with the magazine cover plate removed and with the oper-ating lever partially closed;

FIG. 3, a view similar to FIG. 2, with the magazine removed, illustrating the tool fully closed;

PIG. 4, a perspective of the front portion of the tool;

FIGS. 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9, sections taken on the lines 5 5, 6 6, 7 7, 8 8 and 9 9, respectively, of FIG. l;

FIG. 10, a fragmentary perspective of the actuator lever, presser bar, and strip feed mechanism; and

FIG. l1, an enlarged fragmentary cross-section through the seal at the end of the strip shown partly closed by the curling die and punch.

Briey stated, the tool of the present invention includes a magazine portion on which an actuator lever is pivotally mounted, and having a seal closing member, strip -feed mechanism, feed return mechanism, and ratchet mechanism operated by actuation of the lever whereby the first seal of a strip is entirely closed, the feed mechanism retracted into operative engagement with the next seal, and the next seal fed into position for closing, all during one closing yand opening of the lever.

With further reference to the drawing, the tool includes a frame 10 having a main portion 11 and an offset portion 12 at its forward end. The frame member is elongated and may have a projection 13 for facilitating gripping in the hand.

Mounted `on the side of the frame member by suitable fastening means 14 is a strip magazine 15 having a back plate 16 in contact with the frame and a front cover plate 17 having a lip 1S jutting under the edge of the plate 16 and a notch 17 at its forward end for exposing a greater portion of the foremost seal. Plate 16 may have its foremost portion 19 separate from the remainder, if desired, for purposes to be described.

An actuator lever 20 is mounted by a pivot 21 on the side of the frame at its forward portion. The actuator lever has a hardened groove or recess 22 adjacent to the pivot 21 and on the upper side of the lever, and a hardened cam surface 23 adjacent to the groove 22 and further toward the free end of the lever. A recessed slot 24 is provided in Ithe lever 20 adjacent the frame and such slot is adapted to receive a stop pin 24a to limit the movement of lever 20 in both directions.

A presser bar 25 is pivotally mounted at 26 to the rear of the onset portion 12 of the frame 10 and approximately midway of the side of such frame and has a seal closing head 27 at its forward end shaped to engage the rim of a seal (FIG. 1l) and curl thev same upwardly `rand then form an indentation therein. The presser bar 25 also has an enlarged offset portion 28 at its forward end, adjacent to the seal closing portion 27, for engagement with a return leaf spring.

In order to return the presser -bar -to its starting posi-l tion, a leaf spring 32 is rigidly mounted tat its back end in the frame and has a free end which contacts the offset portion 28 of the presser bar, biasing the sameidownwardly.

A link or rod 35 is received -between the groove 22 on the actuator lever and a similar groove or recess 36 on the back of the head of the presser bar so that depression of the actuator lever moves the head of the presser bar upwardly, the mechanical leverage resulting in the application of great -force to the seal for closing it,

'Ihe feed mechanism for the strip of seals includes la feed finger 40 having a detent 41 at its forward end adapted to be received in notches between the seals. The feed finger is mounted for slidable movement between flanges 42a, 42b of a slide 42 which is mounted on pivot 43. The slide has an aperture 44 at its end remote from the feed linger detent and such aperture receives a iixed pin 45 of smaller size than the aperture, the pin being rigidly mounted in the frame and permitting slight rock-' able movement of the feed slide about the pivot 43. Y The feed finger has a stirrup 4S on its lower side and spaced rearwardly of the detent for receiving a pin 49 mounted at one end of a bell crank 50 which pivotally mounted at 51 on the frame. The remote end 52 of the bell crank 50 is engaged by the cam sur-face 23 of the actuator lever.

The feed finger has an oset portion 55, at its end remote from the detent, engaged by a tension spring 56,

the other end of which is fixed to the pivot pin 43, to return the feed finger' and advance the strip of seals when the actuator lever 20 is released.

In order to urge the rear end of the feed nger slide downwardly to permit the feed linger detent to engage a notch between two seals of the strip, a bulfer mechanism is mounted on the frame. This includes a fixed housing 61 within which a spring 62 is received whose lower end extends downwardly to constantly exert force on the rear end of the feed finger slide.

The feed finger detent 41 is provided with a downwardlyl sloping taper 41a on its rear surface to cause such detent to be withdrawn downwardly from the notch in the seal strip when the feed finger is retracted.

To insure complete closing or" the actuator lever, once the same has been partially closed, a ratchet mechanism is provided. The ratchet mechanism consists of a curved ratchet member 7i) having teeth 7l spaced along its rear surface and attached at one end 72 to the lever Ztl. Near its base the ratchet has a narrow portion 77 for releasing the ratchet when the actuator lever 2li is fully closed. Cooperating with the ratchet 7G is a pawl 73 of conventional construction pivotally mounted at 74 on the frame and having a portion 75 for engaging the ratchet and a spring 76 for urging the same downwardly against the ratchet. It is understood that the frame may be suitably recessedfor receiving the ratchet mechanism.

Stop mechanism is provided to prevent retraction of the strip of seals in the magazine as the feed finger is retracted, and to latch the strip against backward movement while in position for closing of -a seal. This consists of a leaf spring member Sti carried in a recess in plate 19. The spring has an odset forward tip 81 urged outwardly into the plane of the strip and which engages a notch beween the seals when the strip reaches the position for closing a seal. Plate 19 may be separable from the remainder of magazine back plate i6 in order to facilitate its removal, and has a recess 19' for engaging a sealduring closing.

The mechanism within the frame is covered by a front plate 84 and a side cover plate 85 having at one side a guide 86 for receiving the cord or tying elements and guiding them into the open portion of the seal.

In the operation of the device, a strip of seals S is inserted into the magazine from the rear end thereof and moved forwardly until the foremost seal is over the seal closing head 27 of the presser bar 25 and the strip is latched into position by engagement with the strip retraction stop Si?. Then the cord is placed into the grooved portion of thev seal by moving the cord downwardly over the guide 86. With the cord in this position the actuator lever is depressed which moves the rod 35 against the presser lbar head to close the same against the grooved part of a seal backed by the lower edge of the magazine back plate. Further movement of the presser bar head will cause the seal to follow the contour of the seal closing head and curl the seal around the cord. After the grooved portion of the seal has been curled and is resting against the plate i9, further movement of the -presser bar head will force the center portion of the seal into the recess 19 to crimp the seal and prevent accidental withdrawal of the cord.

Simultaneously, the bell crank G is `actuated by contact with the cam surface 23 of the lever to move the feed nger to the rear in position for the next feed, causing the feed nger slide to rock slightly counterclock- Wise, as viewed in the drawing, against the buffer spring 62.

As the lever is depressed the ratchet 7n engages the pawl 73 and return of `the lever is prevented until the point 75 of the pawl is released by the narrow portion 77 of the ratchet. After the lever is released the return spring 32 acting against the offset portion 28 of the presser bar urges the latter downwardly and opens the lever. Simultaneously with the return of the lever the end 52 of the bell crank 50 is released thus permitting the tension spring 56 attached to the feed linger to move the feed finger forwardly with its detent in engagement with the notch between a pair of seals in order to -advance the strip the width of one seal, the feed slide mounting the feed finger having been urged slightly counterclockwise in order to move the detent 41 of the finger slightly upwardly into a space between a pair of seals.

Accordingly, it will be understood that the invention includes a tool having a magazine for holding a strip of seals, feeding mechanism `for intermittently moving the strip into position whereby the front seal may be closed and simultaneonsly removed from the strip, lever-` age mechanism for closing the seal with great force, and ratchet mechanism for insuring complete closing of each seal. The device is relatively small, yet sturdy, and

adapted to close seals in a manner not possible without the use of such a tool.

-It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes made in the embodiment of the invention described without departing from the spirit and scope thereof and that the invention is not limited to what is shown in the drawings and described in the specifications but only as set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A tool for feeding a strip of lightly connected sheet metal seals and for closing a seal at an end thereof, comprising an elongated frame member having a front portion of relatively greater Width than its rear portion and providing one side of a grip, a strip magazine mounted on the frame member longitudinally thereof, an actuator lever pivotally mounted on the front portion of said frame and spaced remotely from the magazine and providing the other side of the grip, means limiting the eX- tent of movement of said lever, a presser bar mounted on the forward portion of said frame, said presser bar being pivotally mounted approximately midway of said frame and having its free front end adjacent to the front of said frame, the front end of said presser bar having a seal closing head for engaging one of said seals at a time and having an offset portion for engaging a return leaf spring, a return leaf spring mounted in said frame and having an end extending into contact with the offset portion of said presser bar to bias the same downwardly, a presser bar actuator rod received between said actuator lever and presser bar and pivotally engaged therewith, feed mechanism for moving said strip along said magazine, said feed mechanism comprising a `feed finger, a feed linger slide mounted for limited pivotal movement on said frame, a buffer mounted on said frame and urging the back end of said feed finger slide downwardly, the back end of said feed finger slide having an enlarged aperture therein, a pin smaller than said enlarged aperture and mounted in said frame and extending into said enlarged aperture to permit limited rockable movement of said feed finger slide, a tension spring mounted on said feed linger slide and having one end engaged with said feed linger and the other end engaged with the pivot pin about which said feed finger slide is pivotally mounted, the forward end of said feed finger having a detent adapted to be received in the space between any adjacent pair of said seals whereby forward movement of said linger urges said strip forwardly in said magazine, said detent having a slope on its reverse side to permit downward camming and withdrawal of said detent from said space during retraction of said feed finger, a feed finger retraction actuator comprising a bell crank pivotally mounted on said frame and having one end pivotally engaged with said feed linger and the other end engaged with said actuator lever, an actuator ratchet having an end rigidly connected to said actuator lever and having spaced teeth along its length and a release contour at its lower end, a pawl pivotally mounted on said frame adjacent to said ratchet, a spring attached to said pawl and biasing it in position to engage and prevent downward movement of said ratchet, a resilient strip retraction stop mounted on said frame and having a portion extending into said magazine for engagement with said strip to prevent retraction thereof, said stop permitting forward movement of said strip, and a face plate mounted on said frame and having a string receiving guide at its forward end adjacent to the front end of said presser bar.

2. A tool for feeding a strip of lightly connected sheet metal seals and for closing a seal at an end thereof, comprising a frame providing one side of a grip, an actuator lever pivotally attached to the frame at one end thereof and having a cam surface on its inner side, a presser bar pivotally mounted intermediate the ends of the frame and having a head at its remote end adapted to be urged into engagement with a seal in position to be closed, rod

means intermediate the lever and the presser bar head and rockably engaged therewith whereby movement of the lever toward 'the frame causes movement of the presser bar head into position for closing engagement with a seal, feeding mechanism for moving a strip of seals intermittently along the frame during retraction of the lever, s aid feed mechanism comprising a feed finger having a detent at its forward end for engagement lbetween a pair of adjoining seals and having a stirmp on its lower side, a bell crank pivotally mounted on the frame and having a pin at one end engaged with the stirrup and having a cam follower at its other end for engagement with the cam surface on the inner side of the lever, a carrier slidably mounting the feed finger, means pivotally mounting the carrier intermediate its ends, means restraining the carrier from pivotal movement beyond a predetermined position, means urging the back end end of the carrier downwardly to one limit of its movement, a spring connected at one end to the back end of the feed finger' and at the other` end to the frame for wardly thereof and urging the feed finger in a forward direction whereby after retraction by the bell crank operated by the lever the feed finger may move forwardly to advance the strip into position for closing the first seal thereof, a ratchet connected to the lever, a pawl mounted on the frame and engageable with the ratchet, said ratchet having release means whereby the lever is released after movement into a position closely adjacent to the frame, and resilient stop means mounted on the frame and engageable with the spaces between seals, one at a time, and permitting forward movement of the strip but preventing retraction thereof, and means urging the presser bar and lever to open position.

3. A tool for feeding a strip of lightly connected sheet metal seals and for closing a seal at one end thereof, comprising a frame member providing one side of a grip, a strip magazine mounted on the frame member longitudinally thereof, an actuator lever pivotally mounted on the front portion of said frame, a presser bar pivotally mounted on said frame and having its free end adjacent to the front of said frame, the free end of said `presser bar having a portion for engaging one of said seals at a time, means biasing said presser bar downwardly, means interengaging said lever and presser bar for moving the latter when the former is depressed, feed mechanism for moving said strip along said magazine, said feed mechanism comprising a feed finger, a feed finger slide mounted for limited rockable movement on said frame, a buffer mounted on said frame for urging the back end of said feed finger slide downwardly, means urging said feed finger forwardly along said slide, the end of said feed finger having a detent adapted to be received in the space between any adjacent pair of said seals whereby forward movement of said finger urges said strip forwardly in said magazine, said detent being shaped to permit downward withdrawal of said detent from said space d-uring retraction of said feed finger, a feed finger retraction actuator comprising a bell crank pivotally mounted on said frame and having one end engaged with said feed finger and the other end with said actuator lever, ratchet mechanism comprising a member having an end connected to said actuator lever and having spaced teeth along its length and a release contour, a pawl mounted on said frame and adjacent to said ratchet, means biasing said pawl towards the position to engage and prevent downward movement of said ratchet, and a strip retraction stop mounted on said frame.

4. A tool for feeding a strip of lightly connected spaced sheet metal seals and for closing one seal at a time, comprising a frame member providing one side of a grip, a strip magazine mounted on the frame member longitudinally thereof, an actuator lever pivotally mounted on the frame, a presser bar pivotally mounted on the frame, said presser -bar having a portion for engaging one of said seals at a time and having an auxiliary portion for engaging a return spring, a return spring mounted in said frame and engaging said presser bar to bias the same downwardly, means interengaging said lever and presser bar for moving the latter when the former is depressed, a strip feed finger mounted for limited slidable and pivotal movement on said frame, first means biasing the back end of said feed finger downwardly, second means biasing said feed finger forwardly, said feed finger having means adapted to be received in the space between an adjacent pair of said seals whereby forward movement of said finger urges said strip forwardly in said magazine, said means permitting withdrawal from said space during retraction of said feed finger, a feed finger actuator mounted on said frame and engaged with said actuator lever, ratchet means connected to said actuator lever, pawl means mounted on said frame adjacent to said ratchet, and a strip retraction stop mounted on said frame and extending into said magazine and preventing retraction of said strip when the latter is operatively engaged with the stop.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 805,257 Brooks Nov. 21, 1905 2,511,795 Cote June 13, 1950 2,626,393 Flood Jan. 27, 1953 2,678,443 Lindstrom May 18, 1954 2,692,384 Pollock Oct. 26, 1954 2,812,676 Brown Nov. 12, 1957 

